Chapter 16 Toward Civil War (1840-1861)

Section 1B A Nation Dividing

Section 1B-Polling Question

1. A
2. B
3. C

If you disagree with a law, do you have the right not to obey it?

A. Yes, always

B. No, never

C. Only under certain � circumstances

Essential Question

How did popular sovereignty lead to violence in Kansas?

The Fugitive Slave Act

• As part of the Compromise of 1850, Senator Henry Clay convinced Congress to pass the Fugitive Slave Law
• This was to pacify slaveholders
• This required all citizens to help catch runaway slaves
• Anyone who aided a fugitive could be fined or imprisoned
• Southerners believed the law would force Northerners to recognize the rights of Southerners
• Instead, the enforcement of the law convinced more people of the evils of slavery

Section 1B

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

What resulted from the Fugitive Slave Act?

A. Passage of the law quieted � widespread violence in � Kansas and Nebraska.

B. Most Northerners believed � Southern slaveholders’ � rights should be upheld.

C. Abolitionists were jailed � in the North.

D. The law angered the North, convincing many � of the evils of slavery.

The Fugitive Slave Act Continued

• After the passage, slaveholders stepped up their efforts to catch runaways
• Even tried to catch runaways who lived in freedom in the North for years
• Sometimes they forced African Americans who were not trying to escape into slavery
• Some Northerners refused to cooperate with the law
• They justified it on moral grounds
• 1849 Henry David Thoreau wrote “Civil Disobedience”
• If the law “requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then I say, break the law”

Helping Runaway Slaves

• The Underground Railroad- A network of free African Americans and whites helped runaways to freedom
• Antislavery groups tried to rescue African Americans being chased and tried to free those that were captured
• In Boston, an antislavery group shouted “Slave hunters- there go the slave hunters”
• People put their money together to buy slaves’ freedom
• Northern juries refused to convict those accused of violating the Fugitive Slave Act

The Kansas-Nebraska Act

• President Franklin Pierce intended to enforce the Fugitive Slave Act
• 1854- Illinois senator Stephan A. Douglas introduced a bill in Congress
• Douglas proposed organizing the region west of Missouri and Iowa as the territories of Kansas and Nebraska
• Because of their location, they both seemed likely to be Free states
• Both were north of 36°30' north (Missouri Compromise)
• Douglas knew the South would object because it would give the free states more votes in the Senate
• Douglas called for eliminating the Missouri Compromise and for popular sovereignty (allow the people to decide)

Kansas-Nebraska Map

Passage of the Act

• Northerners protested
• This plan would allow slavery into areas that had been free for more than 30 years
• Southerners supported the bill
• Southerners expected Kansas to be settled mostly by slaveholders from Missouri who would vote to keep slavery legal
• Congress passed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854

Conflict in Kansas

• When the law passed, pro-slavery and antislavery groups rushed into Kansas
• When elections took place, a pro-slavery legislature was elected
• Only 1,500 voters lived in Kansas at the time
• But there were more than 6,000 ballots cast
• 1,000s of pro-slavery supporters from Missouri crossed the border just to vote in the election
• These Missourians traveled in armed groups and became known as border ruffians

Conflict in Kansas Continued

• The new Kansas legislature passed laws supporting slavery
• One law even restricted political office to pro-slavery candidates
• The antislavery people refused to accept these laws
• They armed themselves, held their own elections, and adopted their own constitution that banned slavery
• By 1856- Rival governments existed in Kansas
• One for slavery and one against slavery

The city of Topeka, shown here on a panoramic map from 1869, housed the Free Soil Kansas legislature.

Pro-slavery Attacks

• Both sides were armed and violence was inevitable
• May 1856- 800 slavery supporters attacked Lawrence, a stronghold of antislavery settlers
• The attackers burned the Free State Hotel and destroyed two newspaper offices and many homes
• Anti Slavery force retaliated

Antislavery Attacks

• Abolitionist John Brown (from Hudson, Ohio) believed God chose him to end slavery
• Brown heard of the attack on Lawrence and vowed to “strike terror in the hearts of the pro-slavery people”
• Brown led a group and killed 5 supporters of slavery
• Armed bands soon roamed the territory

“Bleeding Kansas”

• Newspapers referred to “Bleeding Kansas” and “the Civil War in Kansas”
• In October 1856, the territorial governor sent federal troops to stop the bloodshed
• Violence also broke out in Congress
• Massachusetts senator Charles Sumner lashed out against pro-slavery forces in Kansas, such as Andrew P. Butler from South Carolina
• 2 days later, Butler’s cousin, Representative Preston Brooks, walked into the Senate and hit Sumner with a cane
• Sumner fell unconscious and bleeding

Section 1B

1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D

What was the main cause of the Civil War in Kansas?

A. Dual governments set up � by pro- and antislavery groups

B. Passage of the Fugitive � Slave Act

C. John Brown’s attack on � Pottawatomie Creek

D. Invasion of Kansas by border ruffians

Essential Question

How did popular sovereignty lead to violence in Kansas?

​

-Outsiders corrupted the election, and fighting broke out over the results

Enforcement of the Fugitive Act led to

1. compromise.
2. more anger in the North.
3. recognition of Southerners' rights.
4. an end to the struggle.

Stephen A. Douglas proposed letting the people decide about slavery through

1. popular sovereignty.
2. states' choice.
3. free choice.
4. people's choice.

Missourians who traveled in armed groups to cross the border and vote in elections became known as

1. border ruffians.
2. border voters.
3. border patrol.
4. Missouri voters.

The law that required all citizens to help catch runaway enslaved people was the

1. Removal Act.
2. Fugitive Slave Act.
3. Runaway Act.
4. Slave Owners Act.

What did Senator Stephen A. Douglas propose should be replaced by popular sovereignty?

1. Missouri–Maine Act
2. Texas–Maine Act
3. Kansas–Nebraska Act
4. Missouri Compromise

According to the __________, a person could be fined or imprisoned for aiding fugitives.

1. Southern Slave Act
2. Owners-Right Act
3. Fugitive Slave Act
4. Runaway Slave Act

A war between citizens of the same country is called

1. a cold war.
2. an undeclared war.
3. a civil war.
4. a country war.

Who vowed to “strike terror in the hearts of pro-slavery people”?

1. Andrew P. Butler
2. Preston Brooks
3. Charles Sumner
4. John Brown

Rival proslavery and antislavery governments existed in

1. Missouri.
2. California.
3. Texas.
4. Kansas.

What was the first territory to shed blood in a civil war over slavery?

1. Texas
2. Kansas
3. Missouri
4. South Carolina